Minnesota Wild

In an early season shake-up the Minnesota Wild have traded forwards Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri to the New York Rangers in exchange for veteran winger Mike Rupp.

Powe, a 27 year old in his second year with the Wild, had yet to register a point this season while playing on the fourth line. Palmieri was acquired in the Marek Zidlicky trade last season from the Devils. He posted 6 points in 13 games with Houston of the AHL this season, but has fallen by the wayside in an organization stacked with young talent.

Palmieri, a former first round pick, is on to his third franchise at the tender age of 23.

Things do not get any easier for the Flames as they welcome their toughest test of the season to the Dome, the Chicago Blackhawks. The two teams are on the opposite end of the spectrum in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks have yet to lose in regulation and are tied for 1st with 14 points, while the Flames have got off to a terrible start and sit in the West’s basement.

The Minnesota Wild took to the ice on fire against the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night, scoring within 90 seconds of the puck drop. The relentless physical demand brought out the best of both teams, ending in a shootout and a Wild victory 3-2.

Perhaps over-looked because of his size, 5’10” and 170 pounds, the Isles 2nd round pick in the 2008 draft continues to impress as he has since high school when he was named Minnesota’s ‘Mr. Hockey’. Ness along with Jon Persson and Blair Riley are the only players who have played in each of the teams first 42 games (although a stick to the face cost him a couple of teeth and forced him to wear the ‘bubble mask’ recently).

Selected in the sixth round of the same 2008 draft, again by the Islanders, was another smallish defender (5’8’,175 lbs.) Jared Spurgeon who has already established himself as an NHL’er with the Minnesota Wild. It’s more often than not a matter of being in the right place at the right time that gets your career a jump-start but it is the consistent effort given every shift that gets rewarded.

Wednesday night in St. Paul, the undefeated Chicago Blackhawks will look to continue their winning ways against the "new look" Minnesota Wild.

Although the Wild is tops in the Northwest division, the team has at times struggled to find their footing.

Minnesota is 3-1-0 at home so far this season, and look to hand the Blackhawks their first loss of the year. The Wild won last night 3-2 against an aggressive, physical Columbus team at home, breaking a 3-game losing streak.

Only 5 of the Wild's 16 goals for the season have not been scored by MN's top line of team captain Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, and Dany Heatley. While the Wild may not have much scor...

After one week of play, the Minnesota Wild sit at a pedestrian 2-2-1 record. Zach Parise has set the standard in the early season with 9 points including 5 goals. The top line of Parise-Mikko Koivu-Dany Heatley has combined for 21 points and has scored 10 of the Wild's 13 goals.

They've been great. The supporting cast has not. That goes without saying when three players account for 75% of a team's goal output.

It's still early, but early ,to paraphrase Yogi Berra, is a lot later in this 48 ...

When the Minnesota Wild host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, January 19, it will be the most important regular season game in franchise history. The Wild faithful have been eagerly awaiting the end of the lockout perhaps more than any other fan base. Finally, they'll see Zach Parise and Ryan Suter in live action.

The opening night not only births a new era of Wild hockey, but also culminates “Hockey Day Minnesota,” an annual celebration of the game in the State of Hockey. Excitement is at an all time high. Thousands have already packed The Xcel Energy Center... for th...

Let’s clear something up before considering the above question. TCL does not condone the NHL lockout, nor do the great fans of the Minnesota Wild. But in times like these we must find the glimmers of light in the dark corners of the hockey abyss; we must find the few positives that may yet come from Bettman’s systematic destruction of the 2012-13 season.

On the surface, the Wild and their fans appear to lose more than most teams with the absent season. The summer of Parise and Suter brought interest in the franchise to an all-time high. Minnesotans who have only lifted the silver of a Lake Trout dreamt of holding the glistening Stanley Cup on a sun-drenched lake in ...

As the summer draws to a close so too does the Minnesota Wild’s most exciting offseason in history. In addition to the well publicized Zach Parise, Ryan Suter Fourth of July signings, the Wild added needed depth in forwards Zenon Konopka and Torrey Mitchell. They also re-signed steady backup net minder Josh Harding to below market value.

The result has been a boost of optimism for a club that so desperately needed it.

All parties involved-ownership, management, players, and fans- watched as the team slowly came down from the high of a promising start for their franchise. In the Wild’s first ten seasons, they qualified for the postseason three times, won a divi...